Filmmaking | Interviews | Vermont
Festival Interview: Rob Koier
An interview with Rob Koier about his film based on fugitive slave memoirs from the 1830s
Perhaps the best way to describe Rob Koier’s latest short film The North Star is as visual poetry. Here, NewEnglandFilm.com talks to Koier about the film’s inspiration and production. And watch The North Star online as part of the 2015 Online New England Film Festival.
Perhaps the best way to describe Rob Koier’s latest short film The North Star is as visual poetry. Based on fugitive slave memoirs from the 1830s, Rob’s idea for the film stemmed out of research on a collaborative documentary about the history of the state of Vermont for Nora Jacobson and Nat Winthrop called Freedom & Unity: The Vermont Movie.
Since then, North Star has screened at the Vermont International Film Festival, White River Indie Film Festival, and the PBS online Film Festival. The film won the 2014 Footage Farm award at the Vermont International Film Festival. And on September 26, 2015, it will be screened as part of the 2015 Online New England Film Festival Screening and Awards event at ITVFest.
Currently, you can also watch The North Star online as part of the 2015 Online New England Film Festival. Here, NewEnglandFilm.com talks to Koier about the film’s inspiration and production.
Rob Koier
NewEnglandFilm.com: When did you know you wanted to become a filmmaker?
Rob Koier: In high school, my friend Josh and I used to make short films on a VHS video camera he had. Later, he went to NYU for animation and I stayed in Vermont. I kept changing majors; acting, photography, visual arts, writing, poetry. I also started a band. I tried it all.
And then Josh came back from NYU one summer with a roll of black-and-white reversal 16mm film and suggested we make a short film. I wrote something out, we made it, and I loved every second of the experience. So after that, I realized film was it for me because it combined all of the other arts into one. So In less than two years, I finished my degree in film from Burlington College in Vermont.
NEF: What inspired you to make your film?
Koier: During work on a collaborative documentary about the history of the state of Vermont for Nora Jacobson and Nat Winthrop called Freedom & Unity: The Vermont Movie, I learned about the unique history of Vermont as a haven for fugitive slaves in the 1830s.
The unique and significant thing that we learned in doing the research for Freedom & Unity: The Vermont Movie about the history of fugitive slaves in New England is that in reality the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement was primarily lead by African Americans, and that many of the fugitive slaves who escaped slavery did so on their own accord with no outside help. These were strong, fearless men and women who risked dangers and repercussions worse than death to seek freedom for themselves and their families.
And the sad fact is that after the Civil War, racism became worse in many ways and it is a serious problem that is still happening today. I wish Americans could stop judging each other based on perceived differences like the color of a person’s skin and realize that we are all interconnected, interdependent and ultimately one race: human.
NEF: How did you find your cast and crew for this film?
Koier: The star, Matty Tanner is a local performer I’ve known for years. The crew is also from Vermont. People I have worked with on commercial videos that I produce for companies. Later on, Mark Covino, the cinematographer, directed A Band Called Death which has won much critical acclaim, including being included on VH1’s list of top rock docs of all time.
NEF: How was the film shot?
Koier: The way I worked with Matty Tanner, the lead of the The North Star, was to shoot in sequence and encourage him to be restrained and keep things close to his chest during the shoot.
We shot the film in one day and then recorded the voice over at the very end of the day of shooting, so Matty would be somewhat tired when we recorded his voice over. My idea was that a restrained performance on screen and a more vulnerable narration would evoke the kind of emotional resonance I wanted to come across.
NEF: What are you working on now?
Koier: Three features and a television series.
NEF: Any advice on making films you want to share – about fundraising, working with actors, distributing, sending to festivals, etc?
Koier: Try everything, don’t say no to any idea, don’t give up, believe in yourself.
See North Star as part of the 2015 Online New England Film Festival.
